Week 3 Assignment
Product Marketing Plan
The Product Marketing Planallows you to select a single product and make an adapted version of that product or create your own product and write a plan explaining how you will market it. For an example of a company’s marketing plan, you can refer to pp XXXXXXXXXXin your textbook. Your Course Resources also gives you a template and a real example of a Product Marketing Plan to review. The NU Library has put together some resources for you to learn more about market plans in the enclosed video:
- "Marketing Plans.Marketing Plans" (2:52) - Video Link
Your plan will include the following sections:
- Executive Summary
- Situation Analysis
- SWOT/TOWS
- Marketing Strategy
- Marketing Promotion/Tactics
- Financials
- Controls
- Resources
To get started with your research you can start by going to the NU Library's marketing research guide:
- Marketing Resources: HomeMarketing Resources: Home
If you need assistance with your marketing plan, reach out to our SOBM librarian, Summer Krstevska, at XXXXXXXXXX or XXXXXXXXXX.
Your paper will be 7-8 pages (or it could be longer) and explain your product and the other 4 P’s: promotion, place and price. You will receive feedback from the Week 3 draft in order to complete in Week 4.
Original work is expected. Grammar and spelling will be graded also. If you would like to work on a product/service from your current employment that is ok. If you can't decide what to write on, you can also select a Cause and create a fund raising event for your Product.
Click on the "Week Three Assignment - Product Marketing Plan Draft" link above to submit your assignment, as well to get more information regarding the due date and grading rubric.
I would need a draft and then I will send it back after it has been reviewed and corrected by my instructor.
Week 3 Discussion post
Pricing Strategies
This is going to be a fun, but challenging assignment. So start WAY early!! Read Chapter 16. Select a company and interview the owner/manager regarding their pricing strategies and methods. Report on your findings. Ideally, this will be your current company, but you may need to be resourceful and find a business owner or manager from another company who is willing to visit with you. Your goal is to discover the following:
What is the company’s pricing objective?For this question, it would helpful to show the interviewee a list of the pricing objectives on page 469 with very brief descriptions.(I suggest that you either highlight the first 1-3 sentences under each objective and then show the interviewee the highlighted descriptions in your text OR simply retype them on another sheet of paper for use in the interview).
How sensitive are the company’s target customers to changes in price?(I suggest that you give them options on this question such as “highly reactive to price changes,” “moderately sensitive to price changes,” and “low sensitivity to price changes.”)
Do they have some target segments that are less price sensitive than others?
How much consideration does the company give to competitors’ prices when setting their own?
What method of pricing do they use to arrive at the final price for the customer?For this question, you should be very familiar with the methods found under "Step 5" on pages XXXXXXXXXXbefore the interview, but do not ask the interviewee to select from among them. Instead, simply listen to the description of their pricing method(s) and process. Then, after the interview, try to determine which of the textbook’s methods the company uses. You do not need to request or report exact markups or profit margins! You should make this clear when requesting the interview! We are looking for methods of pricing, not exact figures.
Important note: This is your chance to do some “primary research.” I understand that it may be difficult to find a willing interviewee, but I expect you to try earnestly. If you fail to find a willing owner/manager after at least 7 attempts at different companies, then please email me and I will assist you. Don’t overlook companies owned by friends, people at your church, and those in your old hometown. In your post, you do not need to reveal the name of the company you interviewed or its location. You should, however, reveal the industry, the nature of the business (deli, grocery store, gift shop, nursery, barber, etc), and a rough idea of the size (single mom and pop or multi-location). If the business owner/manager is hesitant about what you may write, offer to submit your post to them for review before posting it.
Report your findings here by Wednesday at midnight. Remember to make at least two quality peer responses this week!
To answer this particular question, click the link above. Once you are in the forum, click the “Create Thread” button to view the question again, as well as, create and submit your answer.